Brockholes is owned and managed by the Wildlife Trust for Lancashire, Manchester & North Merseyside and has hosted over 500,000 visitors since we opened in April 2011.
Based on the site of an old quarry, the Trust has used their expertise to create habitats for lots of different wildlife. You can explore our 250 acre reserve with our network of trails and hides, not to mention the fantastic views offered overlooking the River Ribble. You can also explore our woods or enjoy the lakes on site, which have all been specially designed to attract all kinds of wildlife for you to see. The reserve changes throughout the seasons, so make sure you keep coming back to explore.
Our spectacular floating Visitor Village is the first of its kind in the UK, bringing you as close to nature as possible. The Visitor Village hosts our Welcome Centre, an activity room, our lakeside Reed Bed Restaurant, The Nest gift shop and Coots, which is the perfect place to get a quick snack or one of our many flavours of ice cream!
Brockholes is also an award-winning and eco-friendly conference venue that can host up to 130 delegates, while we also cater for your special events and are a fully licensed wedding venue. With the stunning Meadow Lake in the background we offer a breathtaking and romantic back-drop for photographs, while the floor-to-ceiling windows provide panoramic views across the lake.
Access
With a network of accessible trails and hides, as well as free use of a wheelchair, disabled facilities and car parking spaces, Brockholes is truly able to be enjoyed by all visitors.
Footpaths
Most of the footpaths at Brockholes are level and surfaced. The kissing gates are accessible for smaller wheelchairs and pushchairs and are shown on the Trail Access Guide.
There is a vehicle access gate next to all kissing gates on surfaced paths. If you use a large mobility vehicle or pushchair you can obtain a key to these gates for your visit. Keys are available from the Welcome Centre for a £10 refundable deposit.
Car Parking
There are currently 16 car park spaces for visitors with disabilities. They are located approximately 125 metres walk from the car park to the Visitor Village.
Toilets
Adapted toilets are on the Visitor Village. Please note that there are no toilets out on the reserve.
Assistance Dogs Only
Assistance dogs are welcome in the Visitor Village and on the reserve.
There is a good reason why dogs are not permitted here at Brockholes!
Dogs can disturb wildlife, in particular nesting birds in the summer and half-starved roosting birds of a winter. During the breeding season if your dog was to get too close to a nesting bird it would cause the mother to leave the nest.
Meanwhile in the winter months many birds need to spend all their daylight hours foraging, in order to gain enough fat to survive the night. Therefore, if they are disturbed during the day, there is a very real threat of subsequent overnight death of the more vulnerable birds.
As a result, and to avoid any accidents, we ask that you don’t bring your dog (Assistance dogs are welcome). However, you are welcome to walk your dog down the public footpath that runs down the centre of the reserve.
